Of the some sixty books written by C. Northcote Parkinson, his Richard Delancey series of nautical adventures is still a favorite among many aficionados of Georgian nautical fiction.   Of course, Parkinson is best known for his “Parkinson’s Law” – that “work expands to fill the time available.”  In his book of the same name from 1957, he predicted that one day the Royal Navy would have more ships than admirals.  It has apparently finally happened. 

Admirals outnumber warships in Royal Navy, report shows

“There are currently 41 admirals, vice-admirals and rear-admirals but with constant cuts the number of fighting ships in the Navy now stands at just 40.”

Surprising that it took so long. (Thanks to Dave Shirlaw on the Marhist list.)